Page 1 of Heartbeats & Highways

Chapter 1

“Another dark beer for me,sugar tits.”

My smile tightened at the drunken lout whose eyes were glazed with booze and excitement.

“Sure thing,” I gritted out.

He dropped a few sweaty dollar bills onto my tray, his gaze skating down my body. “Appreciate it, honey.”

Yeah, I bet you do.

With a deep breath, I stuffed the bills into the satchel around my waist and wove my way through the crowd. Sweat and blood lingered in the air of the illegal fighting arena. Two men were currently hosing down the ring to get it ready for the last fight of the night.

Someone’s hand grazed my behind. It took everything inside me not to turn and use the tray as a weapon. But assaulting a customer—a paying customer—wouldn’t help my bottom line. And at the moment, that was all I cared about.

I made it to the bar in the corner. Daisy and Roxy were slinging drinks as fast as people ordered them. One of the red, glittery swatches that barely concealed Daisy’s fake breasts slipped to the side, revealing a nipple.

The crowd hooted in appreciation. She looked down and grinned, fluttered her long lashes and quickly readjusted her top. “Oops.”

I knew if I wore something more revealing, I’d make better money. Working in a place like this—I could barely contain the vomit that threatened to surge up my throat. But cash was king. And under the table cash was emperor.

“God, I’dkillfor your red hair,” Roxy said in way of greeting. “Please tell me those are extensions. Then I won’t feel so bad.”

My mouth curved. “Sorry. My hair is real.”

“Damn it,” Roxy muttered. “You never see waist-length natural red hair in the wild. It’s gorgeous.”

“Seriously,” Daisy added. “You’ve got the Jessica Rabbit thing going on. Men are obsessed with red heads.”

“Jessica Rabbit?” I asked in confusion.

“Yeah, you know, Roger Rabbit’s wife?” Roxy clarified. “Ring any bells?”

“Oh, right.” I shook my head.

Daisy sighed. “What can I get for you, hun?”

“Three light and three dark,” I said.

“You just had a full tray five minutes ago,” Roxy said. “Your beers are gone already? Impressive.”

“I’m telling you, it’s the red hair.” Daisy grabbed a stack of plastic cups and began pouring pints.

“Twenty bucks says he nods at her,” Roxy said to Daisy.

“You’re on,” Daisy replied.

I frowned. “What are you two talking about?”

“Savage is fighting tonight,” Roxy explained. “He hasn’t been in the ring in a while. But he’s undefeated; a maniac.”

“A sexy-as-hell blond maniac,” Daisy added. “And after he wins a fight, he singles out a girl in the crowd and gives her a nod.”

“He never nods at the same woman twice,” Roxy went on.

“What does the nod mean?” I asked.

“It means, you’re his for the night,” Daisy explained.

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